Governments, including public school boards, are required to remain neutral on religious matters. This
means that:

They cannot promote one religion over another.

They cannot promote a religious lifestyle over a secular one.

They cannot promote a secular lifestyle over a religious one.

To be constitutional, the Ten Commandments cannot be posted in isolation.
They can only be displayed along with other sets of religious laws in
order to meet the first criteria. They would have to be accompanied with
secular laws to meet the second criteria. i.e. they would have to be part of a
cultural display. A display in the U.S. Supreme Court is a typical
example:

Three religious leaders are shown:

The Jewish Patriarch, Moses holds the Ten Commandments.

Confucius is shown, representing Confucianism.

Mohammed appears, representing Islam and Shar'ia law.

Four secular leaders are shown:

Caesar Augustus, a Roman emperor

William Blackstone, a famous legal expert from Britain

Napoleon Bonaparte, a leader of France.

John Marshall, chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, 1801 to
1835.

"Justice Stevens has stated that the placement of all of these
historic figures together on the frieze signals a respect for great lawgivers,
not great proselytizers..." 1

Many individuals who are neither Jews, Christians nor Muslims oppose the posting of the
Ten Commandments, because the first half of the document is totally theological
in nature, requiring the reader to follow certain religious rituals, and
avoiding other religious behaviors in worshiping Jehovah. Some who oppose the
posting of the Commandments point out that the main cause of
school shootings
is the prior marginalization of minorities. Posting the Ten Commandment
may well increase the harassment of religious minorities and might lead to
increased school violence.

Supporters of the posting of the Ten Commandments frequently point out an
alleged degeneration in morality in American culture in recent decades. They
often link it the U.S. Supreme Court's ban on Christian prayers and the
recitation of Bible verses in the early 1960s as marking the start of a long
decline. As one supporter in Elkhart, IN,
said: "Things are getting out of control...I'm in favor of posting
them. We have to do something."

This essay continues below.

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Year 1999 legal challenges and court decisions:

1999-AUG:Kentucky: The Jackson County (KY) school board allowed a number of
volunteers to post a copy of the Ten Commandments in every classroom in the
county. According to Betty Bond, principal of Jackson County High School, the
school board and superintendent decided to have the Decalog posted in "an
effort to start having good morals in school...because of all the violent issues
that have been showing up." The local district attorney, Timothy
Crawford, has an interesting legal theory. He believes that since the plaques were
paid for and physically attached to the walls by local volunteers, that the
posting is constitutional. He commented: "I don't believe posting the
Ten Commandments is imposing anyone's religious views because the kids are not
tested on that, the kids are not required to look at it, and the kids are not
required to read it, and they're not held accountable for that knowledge...There was virtually no opposition from the community about the
plaques, and
students returning to the high said little about them." 2

Other schools have had the Ten Commandments posted at public schools for some time:

Adams County, OH, has them in front of 4 high schools. They were placed
there by local ministers to reverse "moral decline."

The Union chapel Elementary School in Russell County KY has posted
them for years.

1999-SEP-26: Georgia: The mayor and all 4 commissioners in Brunswick GA support
the posting of the Ten Commandments on city buildings. The idea was initiated by
Peter Vivenzio, a local businessman. He said that the idea has nothing to do
with religion; it "has to do with character...I'm here to ask you to
take a stand to help take America back...Thirty-four percent of the signers of
the Declaration of Independence quoted the Bible directly. Sixty-four percent
quoted it indirectly." The American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU) and Americans
United (AU) have indicated their opposition. Gary Weber, spokesperson for the
Georgia ACLU said that the city "would likely face a lawsuit...The City
of Brunswick should assure that people feel welcome in all public facilities
regardless of their religion." Supporters of the idea plan to adopt an
unusual strategy: the framed prints would be provided free of charge to the city
and would be hung and maintained by volunteers. They hope that by having no city
money involved, that their actions will be constitutional. 3

1999-OCT-21: U.S. Congress: The Religion Today mailing list reported that the Family
Research Council will be giving a framed copy of the Ten Commandments to 30
members of Congress who have agreed to post them in their office. A spokesperson
for the FRC said: "By posting them in public places, members will send a
clear message that the Ten Commandments are an integral part of public life and
should be posted to promote a virtuous and civil society." This is the
start of a campaign to encourage public officials throughout the U.S. to post
the Ten Commandments.

The People for the American Way announced that it would send copies of
the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to the members of Congress
who will be posting the Ten Commandments in their offices. They will also be
suitable for framing. President Carole Shields commented: "We thought we
should send a reminder that the Founders did not intend for our government to
endorse any particular religion. The simple messages of the Ten Commandments are
timeless and sacred to many of us as a matter of our religious faith. But
they are a religious symbol - specifically, a symbol of Christianity and
Judaism. When the government honors particular religious traditions above
others, it excludes millions of individuals from other faiths and those who
choose not to practice any religion -- and that is not what this country is all
about. We are a nation that makes room for everyone." She continued:
"This campaign politicizes the Ten Commandments by making them yet
another weapon in the Religious Right's crusade to erode the wall between church
and state. We hope that when these members of Congress receive their copy of the
First Amendment, they'll be reminded of the great religious liberties we enjoy
in the United States, thanks to the Bill of Rights: freedom to exercise our own
religion, and freedom from government-sanctioned religions."

1999-OCT-23: Federal Law: The House of Representatives
attached its Ten Commandments Defense Act as an amendment to the Juvenile
Justice Bill. The act does not appear in the Senate version of
the bill. Some comments on the Bill:

Rep. Robert Aderholt stated "Something is wrong in America
when our children can wear T-shirts that are emblazoned with profanity,
that are emblazoned with violence, in the name of free speech, but
simply the words, 'Thou shalt not kill,' cannot be in our
schools." [Author's note: Rep. Aderhold is
wrong. Any public school student can wear a T-shirt with this
message.]

Janet Parshall, spokesperson for the Family Research Council said that when public
school students "walk through the hallways, they see a sign that says 'No shouting in the hall.
No pushing. No shoving. Gym class begins at 3:00.' Why not one that says, 'It's a good idea not to
kill and not to take something that doesn't belong to you'?" [Author's
note: There is no restriction on a public school posting a sign of this type. However, the 1st
Amendment prohibits posting of the Ten commandments which is a religious document.]

In response to the suggestion by others that posting of the Ten Commandments might cause religious
divisiveness, the Rev. Rob Schenk commented: "The Ten Commandments actually unify us. Jews,
Christians and Muslims all agree that they are words from God, and virtually every other religious
system on earth endorses them." [Author's note: We are at a loss to understand
his statement. The first half of the Ten Commandments consist of instructions to worship only Yahweh,
to set aside Saturday as a day of rest and worship, etc. Non-Abrahamic religions certainly do not
endorse these commands.]

1999-NOV: California: The Val Verde Board of Education
voted to reverse its policy of displaying the Ten Commandments in
its district offices, after the American Civil Liberties Union
threatened to sue.

1999-NOV-18: Kentucky: The American Civil Liberties
Union filed suit against McCreary, Pulaski and Harlan country
school boards for unconstitutional displays of the Decalogue.

1999-NOV-26: California: Fred Workman, school superintendent at the Val Verde,
CA, school board, asked that the Ten Commandments be posted in the offices of
the school district. The school board initially agreed. Under pressure from
several parents and the American Civil Liberties Union, they reversed
their decision. The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California
said that "schools needed to find alternatives to dealing with student
behavior. We need to teach our children to respect all people, not just people
of their own faith."

1999-NOV-27: Georgia: The Glynn County School Board in southeast
Georgia asked its attorney to "come up with a display of
historic non-religious documents that would contain the Ten
Commandments." Gerry Weber, the legal director of
the Georgia branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, said
posting the Ten Commandments constitutes the endorsement of a
particular religion. He said the group will try to stop the Glynn
County school board. 3